What do I feed my apple snail?

[JoLy]

I recently got an apple snail and from what I've read they rather eat veggies then algae. I'd appreciate some suggestions for easy feeding. So far the easiest way I've found to feed it was to give it green peas but my other fish are eating some too. Oh and by the way is it true they like apples?

[fishboy]

Snails are really easy going. if you have algae growing in the tank then you really dont have to worry about feeding them. but if you want to ensure that hes eating then throwing in some algae discs in the tank wouldnt hurt. The discs are very slow disolving and sink to the bottom so the snails have a chance to eat them.
And as far as veggies go the will eat almost anything green. most commonly used is lettuce or cucumber. Use a clip and stick it to the side of the tank, they go crazy over it.

But as i said, they normaly dont need to be fed anything extra if there is algae growing in the tank...

[Laura]

That's great that you're looking for the right food for them. 

The first thing to do would be to figure out what type of applesnail you've got.  Some of them are better equipped to eat fresh veggies while others do not have the mouthparts to consume fresh vegetable matter which is why they are safe in planted aquariums. 

If you get a pic or compare yours to the applesnail.net pics, it should help.  Although there are a lot of applesnails, you likely have a Giant ramshorn whose shell looks like a ramshorn or a Brig or Cana.

Canas and brigs look very similar.  The difference is that brigs come in purple, pink and ivory, along with yellow and wild (sort of a browny-green).  Canas come in wild and yellow typically.  A canas spire looks flatened like a cinnamon bun, and brigs have nearly 90 'steps' to their shells.

You may need to cook/microwave or freeze veggies to break down their structure for brigs whereas canas can eat fresh veggies..  Good choices for food include organic dandelion greens, bok choy and zucchini.  They will also enjoy many sinking fish food pellets.  I keep some frozen chopped veggies in the freezer and just drop some in a couple of times a week.

Many snails are not effective janitors.  Although they will consume uneaten food or dead fish, they should not be relied on to eat all types of algae or kept strictly as a 'clean up crew'.  They need to be regularly fed high calcium vegetables.

They do best in higher PH tanks to limit shell erosion and at tropical temperatures.  For more information on-line go to applesnail.net.

Hope that helps, and welcome to the slimy side 

[sas]

Just to add to Lauras' great advice, be sure to have a secure lid on your tank,
since some of the snails have a tendency to go walkabout.
The other fact that I find people don't realize is that snails require pristine water conditions.
If you notice snails heading up the glass to the top of the tank and
staying there and even staying above the water line, then there is
more than likely something amiss with the water parameters.
Great to have more snail people here .

[Pamelajo]

Laura and Sas seemed to have covered everything, so just want to welcome you to the slimy side!!